1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive telemetry protocols and their use in Intelligent Transportation Systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, vehicles have been known to exchange data with a diagnostic computer system (such as in a repair garage) over a hardwired or infrared data link, or a regulatory computer system (such as an electronic toll highway) by a data link using a low power transponder.
More sophisticated vehicular telemetry for commercial fleets has been made possible in the last several years through both terrestrial and satellite RF packet networks. In these vehicular telemetry systems, vehicle sensor data can be transported over wireless data links to a computer that is programmed to monitor and record automotive phenomena and to support database systems for vehicular maintenance, without the need for the vehicle to be in a particular service bay for example. However, these systems are relatively expensive to operate.
A considerable amount of research is being dedicated to developing feasible Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) which are computer-assisted methods to manage highway infrastructures, synchronize traffic lights, measure traffic flow, to alert drivers to ongoing traffic conditions through electronic billboards and other innovations aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of road transportation systems for vehicles.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has been a leader in establishing standards for monitoring vehicle emissions. A recent CARB initiative, known as OBD-III, is the third generation of on-board diagnostic requirements, calling for an emissions regulatory agency to retrieve, remotely, diagnostic data from vehicles, thereby avoiding the need for a visit to a clean air inspection station. In one pilot program, a low-power transponder was used on each vehicle, capable of transferring data between the vehicle and a roadside receiver. Of course, in order for the OBD-III proposal to proceed, each vehicle must have a system capable of collecting and dispatching the requested data through the transponder. CARB is actively reviewing currently available technologies and is surveying the telecommunications industry to see what future equipment is planned. The operating platforms tested thus far by CARB have been relatively cumbersome and have limited capability to be used for other data exchange needs in the future. There is interest in finding a platform that will be economical to operate in order to minimize the financial burden placed on the consumer to implement the proposal.
Moreover, it would be desirable for the chosen platform to be capable of doing more than just sending diagnostic information to a clean air agency. Both the telecom and auto industries are looking at ways to utilize the tremendous business opportunities of reaching urban commuters in their vehicles while they devote several hours each day to their commute.
Vehicular traffic has become a major problem for urban planners. With land values skyrocketing and land-use issues becoming more of a concern, planners are looking for ways of getting more vehicles through existing commuter arteries as an alternative to expanding them. It is also known that the actual volume of traffic handled by a thoroughfare plummets when traffic becomes congested. Therefore, it would be desirable to have vehicles which are capable of exchanging data with themselves as a way to control such things as safe driving distances to avoid collisions and exchanging data with traffic monitoring systems to control such things as driving speeds.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved platform for vehicular telemetry.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved vehicular telemetry system which is relatively inexpensive, yet capable of exchanging a range of useful data through a data communications system between a vehicle and a fixed location.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a vehicle communications system in which the vehicles therein are each capable of communicating both through a data communications system and with themselves.